US Trade Rep Greer tells senators tariff mayhem wont be resolved overnight

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told a committee full of skeptical senators Tuesday that escalating trade tensions won’t “be resolved overnight,” but insisted the US economy is strong enough to withstand President Trump’s duty regime.“Our trade deficit, driven by these nonreciprocal conditions, is a manifestation [of] the loss of the nation’s ability to make, to grow, to build, and the president recognizes the urgency of the moment,” Greer told the Senate Finance Committee.“Our large and persistent trade deficit has been over 30 years in the making, and it will not be resolved overnight, but all of this is in the right direction.”Trump, 78, unveiled the largest slate of tariffs in nearly a century April 2, plunging the markets into disarray.Members of both parties were unclear on the precise objectives Tuesday, and Greer provided little clarity.“This is not a trade war.

Most countries have said they’re not going to retaliate.We have an underlying emergency,” Greer argued when pressed by Sen.

Tina Smith (D-Minn.).“The goal of this is [addressing] the trade deficit.“The goal is to address that, and the offshoring that led to that, and the nonreciprocal treatment that led to that.”The US has consistently held an overall trade deficit — meaning America imports more goods than it exports — since 1976, including a $1.2 trillion trade deficit last year.Also Tuesday, Greer echoed Trump’s assertion that the White House is open to discussion with other nations about reducing the levies, though he declined to say how soon any deals might be reached.“As the countries come to approach us,” he said, “what we’ve told them is, ‘If you have a better idea to achieve reciprocity, to get our trade deficit down, we want to talk to you, we want to negotiate with you.'”Sen.

Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) got Greer to concede that it took the first Trump administration two years to negotiate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreeme...